Protective case having modular components

ABSTRACT

A protective case for a mobile device such as a tablet computer is disclosed that includes modular components that can be mixed and matched by the user at the point of purchase to facilitate creation of a user customizable look. The case includes a shell that is configured to retain the tablet device and a front cover that is configured to protect and conceal the screen of the tablet when the case is in the closed position. When the assembled case is in the open position and the tablet is retained within the shell, the cover is configured to stand the shell up on edge. The shell and front cover can be reversibly attached to one another by the user, so that the user can select a shell of one color, material, design, or style and a front cover of another color, material, design or style. Retention tab and slot are employed to reversibly lock the front cover to the shell to form a seamless integrated multi use mode case.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/243,865, filed Aug. 22, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/590,945, filed Jan. 6, 2015, which claimsbenefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) from U.S. Provisional Application No.61/924,703, filed on Jan. 7, 2014. The above applications are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entirety and are to beconsidered as a part of this specification.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

This patent document relates to protective cases for mobile or handheldelectronic devices such as tablet computers, smart phones, PDAs, MP3players, and gaming devices.

Description of the Related Art

Protective cases for mobile devices are known in the art. Users of suchprotective cases, however, are becoming more and more conscientious ofthe aesthetics of such cases. It is not uncommon for users to havenumerous protective cases of different colors or patterns for differentoccasions. It is also not uncommon for users to customize or personalizetheir protective cases with markings such as stickers, paint, ink andthe like. From an inventory and manufacturing standpoint, it can bechallenging to offer a suitable number of different aesthetics (styles,colors and textures) for even a single protective case model withsufficient diversity and availability to capture significant marketshare. As a result, manufacturers tend to make a limited number ofcolors or styles for their protective cases.

Accordingly, it is here recognized that there is a need for protectivecases for mobile devices that have modular components that can be mixedand matched by the user, such that the user can select a first componenthaving a first aesthetic look and a second component having a secondaesthetic look and reversibly combine those two components into afunctional protective case for a mobile device.

SUMMARY

There exists a continuing need for new and improved designs for casesfor mobile devices that provide modular components that can be combinedby the user to create a functional protective case with a usercustomized look.

The case includes a shell that is configured to retain the tablet deviceand a front cover that is configured to protect the screen of the tabletwhen the case is in the closed position. The shell and front cover canbe reversibly attached to one another by the user, so that the user canselect a shell of one color, material, design, or style and a frontcover of another color, material, design or style.

Various aspects described in connection with the embodiments of theprotective cases disclosed herein, including the drawings and claims,may be combined to form claims for a device, apparatus, system, methodsof manufacture and/or use in any way disclosed herein withoutlimitation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects and advantages are described belowwith reference to the drawings, which are intended to illustrate but notto limit the invention. In the drawings, like reference charactersdenote corresponding features consistently throughout similarembodiments. FIGS. 1-8 illustrate various aspect of a single embodimentof the protective case for an Apple® iPad® tablet computer mobiledevice. (Apple and iPad are trademarks of Apple Inc.). It should beunderstood, however that the various aspects and teachings thereinembodied are not limited to any particular mobile device but have widerapplicability.

FIGS. 1A-1F are front face, back face, left side, right side, top sideand bottom side views of a protective case configured to receive,retain, cover and protect a tablet computer. The protective case, whichis shown in the fully closed position, includes a front cover and shellcomponent that are reversibly interlocked to one another to provide userwith modular design choices.

FIG. 2 is a back side view of the shell component illustrated in FIGS.1A-1F, without the front cover portion attached thereto. The shell isdepicted disassembled to show the configuration of the shell includingthe retention slot, recesses, and apertures, together with the rubbersupport feet. Also depicted is the retention tab in the form of a fabriclock that is dimensioned to fit through the retention slot when orientedon its edge and then be twisted to lock into position within a recessedwall region on the front side of the shell component. Additionallydepicted is a shell slot insert (far left side), which may be insertedinto the retention slot on the front side of the shell when the frontcover is not connected to the shell to cover the slot and providefurther protection to the tablet or mobile device when housed in theshell without the front cover being attached.

FIG. 3 is a front side view of the shell component illustrated in FIGS.1A-1F further illustrating the configuration of the shell and the lineron the front side thereof with the slot insert position within therecess surface of the retention slot. The rubber feet illustrated arevisible at their lower edge but reside on the back side of the shell asillustrated by the phantom lines.

FIG. 4A illustrates the front view (right) and back view (left) of thefabric lock retention tab. FIGS. 4B-4D illustrate the manner by whichthe retention tab may be connected to the end section of the front covercomponent. As illustrated in FIG. 4B outer and inner fabric layers ofthe cover component are fed through the slot on the retention tabthrough the back face. As illustrated in FIG. 4C, once the fabric layersare passed through the slot on the fabric lock retention tab, the innerand outer fabric layers are separated and glued into the recessed areaon the front face of the fabric lock retention tab. As illustrated inFIG. 4D, after the fabric layers are glued, an embossed die cut linermay be glued over the fabric layers to cover the retention tab assembly.

FIGS. 5A-5D illustrate four steps on how the user can reversibly attachthe front cover component to the shell component via the retention taband slot attachment connection. Namely the retention tab on the frontcover is bent so that it is horizontal with the adjacent front cover,the tab and connected region of the front cover are fed through theretention slot on the shell, then the tab is rotated back and lockedinto position within the recessed surfaces adjacent the slot on thefront side of the shell.

FIGS. 6A-6B are perspective views of the assembled protective case whenthe protective case is in a completely closed position and when theprotective case is opened for use, respectively. As illustrated in FIG.6B the front cover serves to provide the tablet with an angled supportedorientation or stand.

FIGS. 7A-7F are respective front face, back face, left side, right side,top side and bottom side views of the shell component of the protectivecase with the fabric lock retention tab positioned in the retention slotof the shell in the lock position and depicted without the front covercomponent attached thereto.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 7B furtherdepicting the fabric lock retention tab in locked position with theretention slot of the shell.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Disclosed herein is a protective case for a mobile device such as atablet computing device having back face and a front face, a touchscreenon its front face, one or more control buttons, ports on its perimeterwalls, and a camera window on its back face. References to “PC” meansmaterial comprised of polycarbonate, references to “TPR” means materialcomprised of thermoplastic resin, references to “EVA” means materialcomprised of ethylene-vinyl acetate, references to “Fabric” meanssynthetic and/or natural fabrics and leather materials.

FIGS. 1A-1F are front face, back face, left side, right side, top sideand bottom side views of a protective case 100 configured to receive,retain, cover and protect a tablet computer, such as an Apple iPad. Theprotective case 100 includes a front cover 200 and a shell component 300that are reversibly interlocked to one another to provide the user withmodular design choices. The user can thereby personalize theirprotective cases by mixing and matching different front covers withdifferent shell components.

Referring also to other drawings, the shell 300 has a front side 301 andan opposing back side 302 that is defined by back wall 305. The frontcover 200 includes a first region 210 that is configured to cover thefront face of the tablet device and a contiguously connected secondregion 220 that is configured to cover at least a portion of the backside 302 of the shell 300.

FIG. 2 is a back side view of the shell component 300 illustrated inFIGS. 1A-1F. The shell 300 is depicted disassembled to show theconfiguration of the shell 300 including the retention slot 310,recesses 345, and apertures 330, together with the rubber support feet340 that fit within the recesses 345 when attached thereto. Alsodepicted is the retention tab 400 in the form of a fabric lock that isdimensioned to fit through the retention slot 310 when oriented on itsedge and (once inserted through the retention slot 310) then be twistedback to lock into position within a recessed wall region 311 on thefront side 301 of the shell component 300. Additionally depicted is ashell slot insert 440, which may be inserted into the retention slot 410when the front cover 200 is not connected to the shell 300 to cover theslot 410 and provide further protection to a tablet housed within theshell.

FIG. 3 is a front side view of the shell component 300 illustrated inFIGS. 1A-1F further illustrating the configuration of the shell and theliner 320 on the front side 301 thereof. The rubber feet 340 illustratedreside on the back side of the shell.

As best illustrated in FIG. 3, the front side 301 of the shell 300 isconfigured to receive and retain the tablet device while allowing useraccess to the touchscreen on the front face of the tablet. The shell 300may be made of any suitable material such as polycarbonate or any othersuitable polymer or plastic and may be formed via molding.

As best illustrated in FIG. 2, the shell 300 includes a front coverretention slot 310 within its borders that extends through the back wall305 between the front and back sides 301 and 302 of the shell 300. Theretention slot 310 may include a surrounding recessed region 311imparted on the front side 301 of the shell 300.

As best illustrated in FIG. 3, the shell 300 may also include aninternal liner 320 on the front side 301 and may include one or moreapertures 330 to allow the user to access power buttons, headphonejacks, volume buttons, rotation screen buttons, etc., and allow for useof the tablet operability features such as camera windows and microphoneor speaker ports.

As best illustrated in FIG. 2, the shell 300 may include rubber supportfeet 340 on the back side 302 at one or more discrete locations alongthe perimeter of the shell 300. The shell 300 may be configured toinclude recessed cavities 345 wherein those support feet 340 may belocated or adhered so as to be more integrated. The shell 300 may alsoinclude another recessed region 350 that is adapted to receive a portionof the second region 220 of the front cover 200 when the case is in theclosed position.

A retention tab 400 in the form of a fabric lock is connected to an endsection 225 of the second region 220 as best illustrated in FIGS. 4A-4D.FIGS. 4A-4D illustrate the fabric lock retention tab 400 and the mannerby which it may be connected to the end section 225 of the front covercomponent 200, which in the illustrated implementation is comprised ofmultiple fabric layers 226, 227 that can be inserted into a slot 410,through the back face 404, of the fabric lock retention tab 400 andglued to a recessed region 420 of the front face 402 thereof.

An EVA liner 430 is depicted as being glued on top of the glued fabriclayers 226, 227 to finish the assembly.

The retention tab 400 is adapted to being reversibly inserted into saidretention slot 310 and reversibly locked into position on the front side301 of the shell 300 to create and assembled protective case 100 as bestillustrated in FIGS. 5A-5D.

As best illustrated in FIG. 6A, the front cover 200 is configured toextend over and conceal the touchscreen when the case 100 is assembledand in the closed position. Whereas when the case 100 is in the openposition, as shown in FIG. 6B, the front cover 200 serves as a supportor stand. The bottom edge of the shell 300 (e.g., at the rubber feet340) engaged to the inner surface of the cover to minimize slip whilethe second region 220 of the front cover 200 acts as a support standthat keeps or maintains the shell component 300 and tablet on edge likea kickstand on a bike.

FIGS. 7A-7F are front face, back face, left side, right side, top sideand bottom side views of the shell component 300 of the protective case100 that further depicts the fabric lock retention tab 400 locked intopositioned within the recessed regions 311 adjacent the retention slot310 of the shell 300. The retention tab 400 is depicted without thefront cover component attached thereto.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 7B furtherdepicting the fabric lock retention tab 400 in locked position withinthe recessed region 311 adjacent the retention slot 310 of the shell300.

Although the various inventive aspects are herein disclosed in thecontext of certain preferred embodiments, implementations, and examples,it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the presentinvention extends beyond the specifically disclosed embodiments to otheralternative embodiments and/or uses of the invention and obviousmodifications and equivalents thereof. In addition, while a number ofvariations of the inventive aspects have been shown and described indetail, other modifications, which are within their scope will bereadily apparent to those of skill in the art based upon thisdisclosure. It should be also understood that the scope this disclosureincludes the various combinations or sub-combinations of the specificfeatures and aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein, such that thevarious features, modes of implementation, and aspects of the disclosedsubject matter may be combined with or substituted for one another.Thus, it is intended that the scope of the present invention hereindisclosed should not be limited by the particular disclosed embodimentsor implementations described above, but should be determined only by afair reading of the claims.

Similarly, this method of disclosure, is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that any claim require more features than areexpressly recited in that claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive aspects lie in a combination of fewer than allfeatures of any single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claimsfollowing the Detailed Description are hereby expressly incorporatedinto this Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as aseparate embodiment.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of assembling a plurality of protectivecases, wherein each of the plurality of protective cases is configuredto reversibly receive and retain an electronic device, said electronicdevice having a back face and a front face and a touchscreen on itsfront face, said method comprising: providing multiple shell components,wherein each of the shell components is configured to receive and retainthe electronic device, and each of the shell components includes a backwall that has a front side and a back side and hawing a retention slotthat extends through the back side of the shell to the front side of theshell, wherein an opening of the retention slot is defined on a firstlongitudinally extending side by a first portion of the back wall and onan opposing second longitudinally extending side by a second portion ofthe back wall; and providing multiple front covers, wherein each of thefront covers is configured to be detachably connectable to the back wallof one of the multiple shell components through the opening of the slottherein via a retention tab located at an end section of the frontcover; wherein the multiple shell components have different externalappearances relative to one another and wherein the multiple frontcovers have different external appearances relative to one another. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein each retention tab is adapted to bereversibly inserted into each retention slot and reversibly locked intoposition and supported on the front side of each shell and therebyassemble a protective case comprising the connected components.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein each retention tab comprises a first tabregion and a second tab region, and wherein each retention tab isconnected between the first and second tab regions.
 4. The method ofclaim 3, wherein each retention tab is adapted to be reversibly insertedinto each retention slot and reversibly locked into position andsupported on the front side of each shell at the first tab region by thefirst portion of the back wall and at the second tab region by thesecond portion of the back wall.
 5. The method of claim 1, each of thefront covers is capable of pivoting relative to each of the shellcomponents at the opening when each of the plurality of protective casesis assembled.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the shellcomponents is generally in the form of a rectangle.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the slot is dimensioned to be defined completelyinternal to the perimeter of the shell.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein the back side of each of the shell components includes arecessed region that extends from the opening to a perimeter end regionof one side of the shell.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein each of theshell components is relatively more rigid than any one of the frontcovers.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein a first one of the pluralityof protective cases comprises a first one of the multiple shellcomponents and a second one of the plurality of protective casescomprises a second one of the multiple shell components, and wherein thefirst one of the multiple shell components is different from the secondone of the multiple shell components.
 11. The method of claim 1, whereina first one of the plurality of protective cases comprises a first oneof the multiple front covers and a second one of the plurality ofprotective cases comprises a second one of the multiple front covers,and wherein the first one of the multiple front covers is different fromthe second one of the multiple front covers.
 12. A protective casesystem for providing a variety of protective cases, wherein each of thevariety of protective cases is configured to reversibly receive andretain an electronic device, said electronic device having a back faceand a front face and a touchscreen on its front face, said protectivecase system comprising: a plurality of shell components, wherein each ofthe plurality of shell components is configured to receive and retainthe electronic device, and each of the plurality of shell componentsincludes a back wall that has a front side and a back side and has aretention slot that extends through the back side to the front side,wherein an opening of the retention slot is defined on a firstlongitudinally extending side by a first portion of the back wall and onan opposing second longitudinally extending side by a second portion ofthe back wall; and a plurality of front covers, wherein each of theplurality of front covers is configured to be detachably connectable tothe back wall of one of the plurality of shell components through theslot opening therein via a retention tab located at an end section ofthe front cover; wherein the plurality of shell components have avariety of external appearances and wherein the plurality of frontcovers have a variety of external appearances.
 13. The protective casesystem of claim 12, wherein each retention tab is adapted to beingreversibly inserted into each retention slot and reversibly locked intoposition and supported on the front side of each shell and therebyassemble a protective case comprising of the connected components. 14.The protective case system of claim 12, wherein each retention tabcomprises a first tab region and a second tab region, and wherein eachretention tab is connected between the first and second tab regions. 15.The protective case system of claim 14, wherein each retention tab isadapted to being reversibly inserted into each retention slot andreversibly locked into position and supported on the front side of eachshell at the first tab region by the first portion of the back wall andat the second tab region by the second portion of the back wall.
 16. Theprotective case system of claim 12, wherein each of the front covers iscapable of pivoting relative to each of the shell components at theopening when each of the plurality of protective cases is assembled. 17.The protective case system of claim 12, wherein each of the shellcomponents is generally in the form of a rectangle.
 18. The protectivecase system of claim 12, wherein the slot is dimensioned to be definedcompletely internal to the perimeter of the shell.
 19. The protectivecase system of claim 12, wherein the back side of each of the shellcomponents includes a recessed region that extends from the opening to aperimeter end region of one side of the shell.
 20. The protective casesystem of claim 12, wherein each of the shell components is relativelymore rigid than any one of the front covers.